Saturday, February 5, 2011

Induna catching breakfast and a glimpse of Karula!

Induna 1 April 2010

Hi everyone!

It looks like we have been looking in the right area for Karula. She was found on Impala Plains yesterday and we managed to catch up with the Diva of Djuma before she disappeared before our eyes into the thick grass!

She was eying up a knobthorn tree and putting her nose to the ground, just before we lost sight of her. We have seen her do this previously and went to retrieve a kill made earlier in the day, almost using her nose to track her own smell back to the carcass. I was convinced this is what she was doing and she was possibly thinking of storing a kill in the knobthorn. I even went back a little later to see if my theory was correct, but sadly no sign! Maybe she decided on another tree or she was still making her way back or there was no kill and my theory was wrong!

Interesting she is still hunting in that area, the impala seem to have moved on, but the tall grass could be concealing other prey like duiker, which we have also seen her feasting on before.

Grey Duiker

I don't think the cubs were too far away, maybe just a bit further South from the plains. She used MMM the other day to move them, possibly as it is nice and open so she could see any danger early, rather than taking the cubs through the thick bush where danger could be hidden and not seen until the last minute. I wonder when the next view of the cubs will be!

WE also followed the excitement of Induna catching breakfast yesterday morning. He was on the Western side of quarantine harassing the wildebeest, possibly having his eye on the youngest calf, but the adults were not giving him any leeway. Continuing to scent mark along the road his attention was caught by a family of guinea fowl in the tall grass. He edged closer and closer until one alerted his presence and it was all pandemonium, birds taking to the skies, blurred spots running this way and that, but he had a sharp eye! As one chick flew out of reach he spied where another had landed in a small acacia. He raced over and plucked it out out of the shrub, looking very pleased with himself! It is great to see his skills have improved and he is well on his way to becoming an accomplished hunter just like his mother!